Recently several major live TV streaming services reported seeing subscribers drop in the first quarter 2024. This included Fubo, Hulu + Live TV, and Sling TV. Now a study from Aluma gives us a good idea about why.
According to the study, most cable TV watchers use live TV or traditional TV as the main method they watch cable TV. But with streaming services like YouTube TV and Fubo, only 23% of subscribers use it as the main method they watch TV. 39% of subscribers to a live TV streaming service say they watch it less often using on-demand more and 38% say they watch live TV services less often than others.
“IMPLICATIONS – Virtual pay-TV subscribers see the service as a secondary or tertiary source of content. This begs the question why they continue to pay for an MVPD service at all. Perhaps it’s the live sports that keep them from churning. But that is a diminishing advantage given ESPN is going D2C and summer 2024 will see the launch of the Disney/Fox/WBD (DFW) bundle,” according to the press release from Aluma.
This move to watch less live TV can quickly explain why many Americans are moving to mostly or only on-demand services.
Increasingly, in our interviews with cord cutters, non-sports fans fail to see the need for live TV. Many cord cutters are likely to start with a live TV service as it offers the closest to cable experience but quickly they move away from live TV to a full on-demand only streaming experience.
If this trend continues, it spells real trouble for many live TV services.
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